This study attempts to point out the importance of the anatomo-clinical finding of an "hour-glass" shape to the uterus in the diagnosis and treatment of cervical pregnancy. From 1973 to 2001, four cases of cervical pregnancy were treated in the 2nd Obstetrical and Gynecological Clinic of the Aristotelion University of ...

OBJECTIVE: To measure the ultrasonographic cervical length in undelivered women after successful tocolysis for preterm labor, and to determine whether this could improve the predictive value of cervical length measured before initiation of tocolysis on the risk of preterm delivery. METHODS: This was a prospective study of patients admitted and ...

BACKGROUND: The standard management of early-stage invasive cervical cancer in early pregnancy is radical hysterectomy with the fetus in situ. We describe a case of early invasive cervical cancer in pregnancy that was treated with a conservative surgical approach. CASE: A nulliparous pregnant women at 15 weeks of gestation was ...

There is evidence in humans that the C3/4 level of the spinal cord is a site for sensorimotor integration, analogous to the C3/4 propriospinal system (PS) in cat. Although the clinical relevance of the putative C3/4 PS in humans is not clear, there is some evidence indicating that drive to ...

OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to determine whether the Ki-67 immunostaining pattern, present on diagnosis of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), predicts the change from low-grade to high-grade CIN over a 2-year period after diagnosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Of 59 cervical biopsy samples from 59 patients diagnosed as having cervical CIN, 35 ...

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether sonographic measurement of cervical length in pregnancies complicated by preterm prelabor amniorrhexis helps distinguish between those women who deliver within 7 days and those who do not. METHODS: In 101 women with singleton pregnancies presenting with preterm prelabor amniorrhexis at 24-36 (median, 32) weeks of gestation ...

OBJECTIVE: To present a case of maternal morbidity encountered in a cervical heterotopic pregnancy after successful potassium chloride (KCl) injection for transvaginal multifetal pregnancy reduction. DESIGN: Case report. SETTING: Tertiary referral care center. PATIENT(S): A woman with heterotopic twin gestation after IVF. INTERVENTION(S): Diagnosis of a viable cervical heterotopic pregnancy ...

OBJECTIVES: To examine the value of pre-induction sonographic assessment of cervical length, posterior cervical angle and occipital position in the prediction of the induction-to-delivery interval within 24 h, the likelihood of vaginal delivery within 24 h, the likelihood of Cesarean section and to compare sonographic assessment with the Bishop score. ...

The greatest risk element in any form of assisted conception, is the risk to a fetus within a multiple pregnancy, even with twin implantation. Recent research has examined the contribution of single embryo transfer in reducing the incidence of multiple gestation within IVF. Two recent studies from our assisted conception ...

OBJECTIVE: Less than 10% of women presenting with preterm contractions progress to active labor and delivery. This study investigates whether cervical length measurements by ultrasound can discriminate between true and false labor in women presenting with threatened preterm labor. METHODS: Cervical length was measured by transvaginal ultrasound in 253 women ...

OBJECTIVE: We investigated the potential roles of relaxin and subclinical intra-amniotic inflammation by quantitating amniotic fluid relaxin and interleukin-6 concentrations for the prediction of outcome of rescue cerclage in women with cervical incompetence. STUDY DESIGN: Cervical incompetence was diagnosed when cervical dilatation exceeded 2 cm with intact but bulging membranes ...

OBJECTIVE: Preterm triplet delivery is common and has a tremendous impact on neonatal mortality and morbidity. We aimed at assessing early second-trimester cervical length as a means of detecting triplet pregnancies at risk for preterm birth. METHODS: Cervical length was measured in triplet pregnancies during weeks 14 to 20. Cervical ...

PROBLEM: High interleukin (IL)-8 concentration in cervical mucus in the second trimester is a risk factor for premature birth. We investigated the relationship between vaginal pathogens and IL-8 in cervical mucus. METHOD OF STUDY: In 501 women with single pregnancy, vaginal secretions were cultured for bacteria and cervical mucus IL-8 ...

BACKGROUND: Trachelectomy is a conservative but locally radical procedure associated with a high risk of preterm delivery. CASE: A 28-year-old patient with cervical cancer FIGO stage IB1 was treated with laparoscopic pelvic lymphadenectomy followed by trachelectomy. Three years later, she conceived spontaneously. In consideration of the high risk of preterm ...

BACKGROUND: Uterine cervical varix is a rare complication in pregnant women and can be the cause of obstetric hemorrhage in the vagina resulting in adverse events for both the mother and fetus. CASE: A 34-year-old Japanese woman was hospitalized at 18 weeks gestation because of cervical varix and placenta previa. ...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effectiveness of emergency cervical cerclage in prolongation of pregnancy and its effect on pregnancy outcome in patients with cervical incompetence. METHODS: A retrospective review of patients who had an emergency cervical cerclage performed for cervical incompetence during the period from July 1995 to June 2002 was ...

This article reviews safety, efficacy, and complications of intracervical osmotic devices and discusses diagnostic, therapeutic, and preventative measures for managing them. Osmotic dilators have been used to ripen the cervix in gynecologic and obstetric procedures for centuries. Their gradual effect in softening and dilating the cervix reduces the chance of ...

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to report pregnancy outcome and complication rates for women with recurrent late pregnancy loss who were treated with preconception transabdominal cervicoisthmic cerclage. STUDY DESIGN: This was a case note review of 19 women at high risk for second trimester loss and early preterm ...

BACKGROUND: Different types of fibroids may affect reproductive outcome to a different extent, causing infertility and pregnancy wastage. Rectosigmoid compression, prolapse of a pedunculated submucous tumor through the cervix, venous stasis, polycythemia and ascites are infrequently associated with leiomyomas. Uterine leiomyomas arefound in approximately 2% of pregnant women; 1 in ...

A case of a 38year old grandmultipara (Gravida9, Para7+1, all alive) woman with squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix co-existing with multiple pregnancy is presented. She had therapeutic termination of pregnancy with oxytocin at a gestation age of 18 weeks. This was followed by intracavitary and then extracavitary radiotherapy. The ...

OBJECTIVE: To determine the accuracy of differential diagnosis by team consultation of abortion in progression, low-lying implantation/cervicoisthmic pregnancy, and cervical pregnancy (CP) in patients referred for suspicion of abnormal implantation on the lower segment and cervix of the uterus and to determine the efficacy of endoscopic surgery with uterine artery ...

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to compare the outcome of pregnancies among patients with suspected cervical incompetence treated either by elective cervical cerclage or an alternative management program involving cervical surveillance. DESIGN, SETTING AND METHODS: A prospective cohort study was performed in two groups of patients at ...

OBJECTIVE: To compare cervical clinical data, ultrasound parameters and fetal fibronectin assessment in the prediction of the duration of induced labor when the cervix is unfavorable. METHODS: This was a prospective study of 90 pregnant women with a Bishop score </= 5 undergoing labor induction. The Bishop score and its ...

Two otherwise healthy pregnant women presented with intrauterine fetal demise and underwent unremarkable induction of labor. Histopathologic examination of both placentas revealed polarizable foreign material with minimal associated tissue reaction in the membranes and adjacent maternal decidua. No overt foreign body giant cell reaction or inflammation was seen, suggesting recent ...

OBJECTIVES: (1) To elucidate the views of obstetricians with respect to the use of transvaginal ultrasound in general, and, specifically, for determining cervical length, and the conditions under which obstetricians would employ cervical cerclage based on a sonographically revealed shortened cervix; and (2) to determine the possibility of a randomized ...

Diethylstilbestrol is a synthetic nonsteroidal estrogen that was used to prevent miscarriage and other pregnancy complications between 1938 and 1971 in the United States. In 1971, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning about the use of diethylstilbestrol during pregnancy after a relationship between exposure to this synthetic ...

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to compare the relative safety of 2 techniques for surgical abortion late in the second trimester.Study design Retrospective review of patients who underwent surgical abortion at >or=20 weeks' gestation at our hospital from June 1996 through June 2003. Records were reviewed to determine ...

Cervical pregnancy is an uncommon ectopic pregnancy that accounts for approximately <1% of extrauterine gestations. This condition is associated with an extremely high risk of massive hemorrhage and previously often required hysterectomy. Current early ultrasonographic diagnosis and medical management in conjunction with other conservative measures, which include uterine artery embolization ...

Spontaneous cervical epidural haematoma is very rare during pregnancy. We describe a woman who presented with tetraplegia at 41 weeks of pregnancy. She had no previous history of any relevant medical disorder. Her upper level of anaesthesia was at the second thoracic segment. The condition was diagnosed by magnetic resonance ...

In a previous study we observed that it is possible to reach the cervix in all queens with a 1 mm diameter probe only. So, we developed both a new technique and a catheter (1 mm diameter) to allow transcervical insemination [Zambelli and Castagnetti 2001]. The aims of this study ...

Our objective was to evaluate the role of the nitric oxide (NO)-cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) pathway in rat uterine and cervical contractility at mid- and late gestation. Rings of uterus and cervix from Sprague Dawley rats on day 14 of pregnancy (mid-) and day 21 of pregnancy (late) were equilibrated ...

OBJECTIVE: The Foley catheter is a safe and effective form of preinduction cervical ripening and is quickly growing in popularity. Its major effect appears to be through mechanical dilation, which has raised the concern that the use of the Foley catheter for cervical ripening may damage the cervix and result ...

PROBLEM: We investigated whether cervical shortening and high interleukin (IL)-8 in cervical mucus were valuable indications for treatment to prevent premature birth and preterm, pre-labor rupture of membranes (pPROM). METHOD OF STUDY: Pregnant women were divided into group A, in which neither cervical IL-8 nor cervical length was measured in ...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the feasibility of transperineal ultrasonography for uterine cervical assessment by determining the correlation of uterine cervical length measurement from transabdominal, transperineal and transvaginal ultrasonography and comparing discomfort arising from each technique. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Fifty pregnant women of 37 weeks' gestation or later who gave consent participated ...

OBJECTIVE: To estimate whether cervical and lower uterine segment characteristics other than cervical length and funneling predict recurrent preterm birth. METHODS: We conducted a secondary analysis of a multicenter, blinded observational study of 181 women with singletons and prior spontaneous preterm births. Endovaginal ultrasonic examinations were performed at 2-week intervals ...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate several conventional cervical smears obtained from women undergoing routine screening for cervical dysplasia or carcinoma and whose smears contained structures resembling collagen balls. STUDY DESIGN: Between 1995 and 1998, cervical smears containing collagen balls were analyzed. The clinical histories of the patients whose smears contained collagen balls, ...

OBJECTIVE: To compare pregnancy outcome for women at risk of preterm delivery undergoing elective cervical cerclage in the first trimester or serial transvaginal assessment of cervical length with cerclage only if indicated (control cases). DESIGN: A matched case control study. SETTING: Prematurity clinic at two London teaching hospitals. POPULATION: Women ...

Objective: To determine the Pregnancy Complications and Outcome following Cervical Cerclage Operations. Subject: The case records of 76 patients who underwent Cervical Cerclage Operation for Cervical incompetent at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital between January, 1983 and December 1999 inclusive were reviewed. In all the patients the diagnosis of ...

BACKGROUND: First-trimester abortion in women with cervical stenosis results in difficult or impossible suction curettage. We present the case of an early pregnancy in a woman with cervical stenosis after cone biopsy in which the pregnancy was terminated by transvaginal needle aspiration of the gestational sac under echographic guidance. CASE: ...

AIM: Aim of the study was to investigate the efficacy of single transvaginal ultrasound-guided intraamniotic installation of methotrexate in the management of cervical pregnancy with concurrent review of the literature. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Six patients with cervical pregnancy are included in the study. All patients were treated with single transvaginal ...

A rare case of a term-pregnancy and delivery in a patient with microprolactinoma is presented. The patient had been treated with bromocriptine since she was 17 due to primary amenorrhea for 60 months with short intervals. Pharmacological tests with dopamine antagonists and X-ray diagnostics revealed the presence of microprolactinoma. The ...

OBJECTIVE: Report of a rare case of consecutive spontaneous cervical pregnancies. DESIGN: Case study. SETTING: Teaching hospital. PATIENT(S): One healthy nulliparous woman in the early years of her fourth decade. INTERVENTION(S): The first of two cervical pregnancies was treated with two doses of methotrexate and subsequent uterine artery embolization. The ...

The purpose of this study was to compare the fertile phase of the menstrual cycle as determined by the Clearplan Easy Fertility Monitor (CPEFM) with self-monitoring of cervical mucus. One-hundred women (mean age = 29.4 years) observed their cervical mucus and monitored their urine for estrogen and luteinizing hormone metabolites ...

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether sonographic measurement of cervical length in twin pregnancies presenting with threatened preterm labor helps distinguish between true and false labor. METHODS: In 87 women with twin pregnancies presenting with regular and painful uterine contractions at 24-36 (median, 30) weeks of gestation, cervical length was measured by ...

OBJECTIVE: To examine the potential value of routine measurement of cervical length in singleton low-risk pregnancies at 37 weeks of gestation in the prediction of onset and outcome of labor. METHODS: Cervical length was measured by transvaginal sonography at 37 weeks in 1571 singleton low-risk pregnancies. Outcome measures were gestation ...

Gynaecological malignancies frequently occur in women of reproductive age and are estimated to complicate approximately one in 1000 pregnancies. The incidence of gynaecological malignancies during pregnancy is expected to rise as more women delay childbearing into their later reproductive years, and maternal age is the most powerful predictor of cancer ...

BACKGROUND: Transabdominal cervicoisthmic cerclage is a procedure carried out to increase the fetal salvage rates in women who are poor candidates for the more usual procedure of transvaginal cerclage or for those with previously failed vaginal procedures. Although several modifications have been applied to the original procedure in an attempt ...

The gradual disorganization of collagen fibers in the stromal connective tissue of the uterine cervix is characteristic of progressive cervical softening during pregnancy. A lack of thrombospondin (TSP) 2 has been shown to be associated with altered collagen fibril morphology of connective-tissue-rich organs such as skin and tendon. The goal ...

OBJECTIVE: To assess the role of transvaginal sonographic cervical length in predicting spontaneous preterm delivery at < 32 weeks in patients with both triplet pregnancy and therapeutic cerclage. STUDY DESIGN: The maternal records of all triplet pregnancies with therapeutic cerclage and sonographic cervical length before and after cerclage were reviewed ...

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to compare preterm delivery rates and neonatal morbidity/mortality rates for women with cervical incompetence with membranes at or beyond a dilated external cervical os that was treated with emergency cerclage, bed rest plus indomethacin, versus just bed rest. STUDY DESIGN: Women with cervical ...